SVA BFA Fine Arts

Painting

Painting

Painting is one of our most popular and diverse offerings. With classrooms in our 16th Street and West 21st Street buildings, BFA Fine Arts painting classes explore the various mediums (oil, acrylic, watercolor, collage, drawing, printmaking) and diverse styles of this two dimensional art form — from figuration and representation to abstraction and the non-objective. Each classroom has a wash station and artwork storage area as well as state-of-the-art easels and easy-to-move studio furniture.

Painting Courses

In this course, students will define their own priorities in paint. The emphasis will be on creating a dialogue within each student’s body of work while continuing to explore new artistic territory. Studio time is stressed: how best to further identify and realize one’s goals, how to organize one’s efforts, how to work both intellectually and physically in the studio, and how to communicate one’s intentions. Individual instruction will be given with the encouragement of an exchange between fellow students. We will explore various media to further inform and advance painting efforts. Students will be asked to use New York’s vast cultural resources on a regular basis. The understanding of our visual culture, the evolution of our creative working process and the ability to communicate our ideas are the means toward future study. Models will be available as required.

This course is for painters who want to work with materials, processes and techniques other than, or in addition to, traditional techniques of brush and paint on canvas. Students can explore collage, assemblage, relief, wall sculpture, fresco, in situ wall paintings, new media and other approaches to extending the dimensionality of painting’s surface. Any material can be used: fabrics, wood, metals, plaster, plastics, found objects, etc. We will critically examine differences between painting and sculpture in the context of picture plane, opticality, illusion, realness and objectness, and the way these terms are defined art historically, and look at how artists today engage these traditions. Photographs of this course can be viewed at rpasvaphotos.com. Note: An assortment of hand tools and power tools are available for fabrication of projects, as well as access to the sculpture studio.

Image-based work is the predominate form of painting today. It can range from simple figuration to highly resolved illusionistic painting, with many divergent alternatives in between. Much of the current work is photographically derived. This course will explore the full range of modes of representation, with an emphasis on the photograph as a source. The use of photographic information, from media-based imagery through digital alteration will be considered. We will cover the ways that photography is both similar to and different from direct observation. Particular emphasis will be placed on helping students to match their technique to their sources and to defining the underlying content. A variety of imagery, media and content will be thoughtfully considered. Contemporary use of historical techniques will be demonstrated.

FID-3217 / FID-3218
Instructor: L. Behnke
This studio course will explore the methods and materials concerning all forms of
painting. From highly representational to nonobjective subject matter our contemporary
practice is being reshaped. There have been many technological innovations
in materials, leading to changes in the practice of painting that are specific to
the 21st century. In addition, many historical materials have been upgraded to
include modern alternatives. A complete examination of all painting mediums will
be explored. Bridging the gap between representation and abstraction, artists
working today utilize both historical and current practices. This course will examine
individual expression in light of current usage. Gallery visits and in-class demonstrations
will be an important part of the course, and students will be encouraged
to consider how “thinking in their materials” will enable them to understand how
materials enhance their concepts. Note: Open to students from all departments.

FID-2263-A
Instructor: M. Meyer
This course is designed for adventurous students using watercolor—one of the
ancient art-making mediums still in use. In the class, form, composition, color,
and basic techniques will be discussed and students will explore the expressive
and stylistic possibilities of the medium in the 21st century. As the course
progresses, projects will focus on visual problem solving and unconventional uses
of this paint: different formats, including personal books and diaries, multi-panel
paintings using the model, collage, narrative assignments and abstraction. Group
and individual critiques, and discussions of historical and contemporary uses of
watercolor will be included. Note: Open to students from all departments.

More than ever, pictures have become a part of our contemporary experience and their wide availability presents today’s artists with an embarrassment of riches. Artists need to be innovative and intentional when finding and developing visual source material for their work. This course offers a hands-on approach to creating personal archives, iconogrpahies, and narratives, to be used in the production of work – with an emphasis on experimentation. Students will be encouraged to pursue an interdisciplinary approach while discovering various methods by which to make artwork. During class hours, photography and video will be explored as a means for generating images, and as tools for conceptualizing paintings, drawings , sculptures, or mixed-media projects. Screenings and lectures will supplement class discussions. By the end of the semester, students will have generated new material and conceptual strategies to support their studio practice and developed a technical understanding of working with digital media.

You are what you eat—or are you? Do you know what is in your food? From farm to fork what happens in between? Is what the food producer tells you true? FOOD: Projects in Bio Art focuses on how food production, industrial farming and GMOs have become part of our daily life. Projects will consists of growing plants hydroponically, DNA analysis of local food, and time-lapse photography and microscopic imaging of foodstuffs. In addition, we will explore the cultural differences, taboos and evolution of eating practices.

We will look at culinary styles around the world, and their social, economic and political ramifications. We will examine urban farming, molecular cuisine, digital gastronomy, as well as pesticides and contaminates. Part forensic and part horticulture in practice, we will gather plants to extract pigments for watercolor; design food sculptures, including stencils for cakes; and use spices in novel ways. We will explore the effect microorganisms have on food— from cheese to e-coli to yogurt. From the good, the bad and the ugly, how has genetic engineering affected our lives? What effect is global warming having on food sources? Performance, painting, sculpture, public art, photography, illustration and cartooning, as well as community-based projects are welcome.

From the decipherment of the human genome to industrialized food production, science has spilled out of the laboratory into our lives. As scientists engage in molecular engineering, the corporeal body and the manipulation of life forms have become a public and aesthetic discourse unto themselves. This course will examine intersections between laboratory practices and visual art production. Projects will employ video microscopes and scanning devices, scientific specimen collections, plant tissue engineering, new anatomical models and molecular cuisine. In addition, each student will design their own terrarium with fish, aquatic plants and/or micro eco-systems. Field trips and guest lecturers will complement course material. Students may work in a variety of media, from drawing and painting to the digital and performing arts.

In this multimedia course, students will explore color and the principles of color theory. Each project will incorporate a specific lesson about color and light as a starting point, which is subsequently developed into a more complex and personal work. This is a challenging course that will help students to acquire the skills to make visually dynamic works, as well as expand the way they use, perceive and understand color. Projects will incorporate painting, photography, collage and digital images. In addition to home assignments, students are required to keep a sketchbook and to review exhibitions. Note: Please bring acrylic paints (approved, nontoxic materials only) to each session. Students must own or have access to a digital camera.

Each session of this course will begin with a 20-minute warm-up assignment as a way to experiment with different approaches to painting and image-making. Students will then work on assigned and self-initiated projects. Working from observation, using systems to develop work and understanding drawing as a key to painting are just some of the approaches that will be explored. Experimentation with various materials and techniques is encouraged, as well as development of content through focusing on issues of identity, taste, politics, spirituality and philosophy. Home assignments, journal keeping and reviewing exhibitions are required. This is a rigorous course, as are the process of art-making and the discipline of being an artist.

This course will concentrate on both the technical aspects and conceptual basis for working from and with photography in painting. The apparent objectivity of photographs will be used to investigate their hidden codes: what the photograph documents, what is suggested, what is left out and the social role of subject matter. We will discuss the formal qualities of images and how they might change the reception of a painting. Some emphasis will be given to the categories of dreams and hallucinations, memory and time, pictures and politics, and commercial images.

Foundation-year painting will explore various means of representation through the application of pigments to canvas, panels and paper. Color and its organizational principles will be investigated—both as a practical and theoretical endeavor. An exploration of form and content will be undertaken with an emphasis on technical skills. Class critiques and museum visits will be employed as vehicles to develop critical terms concerning painting.

This is the second part of a two-semester course.
Foundation-year painting will explore various means of representation through the application of pigments to canvas, panels and paper. Color and its organizational principles will be investigated—both as a practical and theoretical endeavor. An exploration of form and content will be undertaken with an emphasis on technical skills. Class critiques and museum visits will be employed as vehicles to develop critical terms concerning painting.

From an image’s conception to its execution, ideas, materials and processes run together. In this workshop, we’ll investigate the use of novel and traditional materials and the range of pictorial sources: fine art to pop art, everyday life to nightlife, institutions and the politics of space, objective and subjective analyses. What’s your worldview? What’s your comfort zone and how can you exploit it? With an emphasis on interpretation of work through the materials used (paint, honey, nail polish), the context in which they appear (wall, floor, street) and the formal elements of construction (scale, application, space, light, subject), we will look for ways to describe and strengthen your point of view. Instruction is one-on-one with class critiques. Discussions about work by artists who employ analytic, eccentric, comedic, political, romantic or intuitive points of view are included.

Together, we will examine our assumptions about traditional painting in relation to a more contemporary experience of art-making. All approaches are welcome. Focus will be on discovering the problems of interest to each student and finding the material/metaphor most appropriate to each person’s objectives. Dialogue will center on developing the strengths of personal ideas in relation to the vast and rich community of painting’s vital past and intriguing present. A project-based course for students interested in developing their own ideas through a range of work in various media, emphasizing painting, but also encouraging works in other media. We will visit galleries and museums, and students will review various exhibitions on a regular basis. There will be group critiques throughout the semester.

Students will employ any media of their choice to further inform and advance their creative efforts. The emphasis will be on developing a dialogue and methodology that refines and explores new artistic territory. “Studio-time” is stressed to discover how best to further identify and realize intentions, how to organize efforts, and how to work both intellectually and physically in the studio. Research and archival practices will be taught. Internet sites will be employed to expand both technical and intellectual information and resources. Instruction is given on an individual basis. Students are encouraged to exchange ideas and techniques with their peers, as well as visit New York’s vast cultural resources on a regular basis. The understanding of visual culture, the evolution of a creative working process and the ability to communicate visual ideas are the goals of this course. There will be individual and group critiques.

This painting course will engage students in their development of the narrative image. Using traditional and experimental approaches to oil paint, acrylic and gouache, students will explore composition, color and process in relation to the narrative possibilities of the picture. Students will work from models, memory, and imagination and will explore the uses of the narrative image and its possibility to express ideas. The uses of narrative in contemporary art and storytelling in art history will be discussed. Students will develop their ideas as well as their technical skills.

The goal of this course is to give students a strong foundation in both the intellectual and the formal aspects of painting. While representation in painting will be the subject, the focus will be on painting as a language and a process. Working from observation, various aspects of pictorial construction will be emphasized. Students will execute quick wet-into-wet paintings of the models to become more intimate with the material aspects of painting. Light and shadow will be discussed as a motor of representation. We will explore contrast of value, as well as warm and cool tonality, and then examine color and color theory and create paintings based on a complementary palette. Even while working within structured projects and a restricted palette, the expressive means of painting will be emphasized. The last phase of the course will focus on more complex projects in full palette. Students will be encouraged to develop their personal interests and subjects without abandoning formal aspects of painting. Group critiques emphasizing the verbalization of intent will be an essential element. Home assignments, slide presentations and museum visits are included.

What do we do when we look? What happens as we build pictures? What makes an image memorable? We will consider the context for these concerns from Cézanne to psychedelic art to current exhibitions. Learn to focus your intentions while finetuning your intuition. Work from observation, imagination or printed sources with an emphasis on the distinctly physiological experience of painting.

Silkscreen changed the look of art in the early 1960s when painters like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg started combining printing and painting to make unique works of art. This transformation of a once commercial process into a multifaceted art making tool made it possible to repeat images and create unlimited variations whether on paper, canvas, plastic, glass, metal, wood or any number of other materials. Silkscreen has also incorporated the use of digital photography and computer manipulations for image making. Students will be encouraged to make the most of this wide-open process and to seek their own creative solutions. Work will be critiqued on an ongoing basis.

In this course, students will develop a painting practice that employs imagery and pictorial means from both abstract and representational realms. This painting tradition includes the work of Henri Matisse, Philip Guston, Elizabeth Murray and Gerhard Richter, to name a few. Students will be encouraged to create images that incorporate the formal languages of modes of abstraction. The development of a mature studio practice will be stressed.

This course covers basic watercolor painting materials and techniques. Form, composition and color will be discussed and students will explore the expressive and stylistic possibilities of the medium. Visual examples from art history and contemporary art will be part of the class critiques.